PEORIA - The first state finals trophy in any sport for Bluford Webber will be a large one.

Webber pulled even with three runs in the seventh inning and scored the go-ahead run in the 10th for a 5-4 victory over New Athens in the first Class 1A baseball state semifinal on Friday at Dozer Park.

Webber (23-7) will face Crete Illinois Lutheran (26-2) for the 1A state title at about 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

Webber’s previous baseball best was a regional championship, last season.

Its deepest tournament run in any sport had been a Class A boys basketball sectional title in 2005.

“We’re here and someone is going to have to beat us because we’re not going to give anything away,” said coach Sam Root, also the school’s athletics director.

Webber, located in Jefferson County just east of Mount Vernon, this season has an enrollment of 130 students.

Mark Knepler, a Springfield transplant who relocated to Bluford more than a decade ago, was among the town’s residents who made the 225-mile trip to Peoria. His son, also Mark Knepler, plays third base.

“There’s nothing to do in Bluford today because nobody’s home,” the elder Knepler said. “Everyone is here.”

Jordan Wheeler, a 6-foot, 220-pound senior, threw 175 pitches and went all 10 innings in the complete-game win over New Athens. Wheeler also was celebrating his 19th birthday.

“Adrenaline is what kept me going,” Wheeler said. “This is the best feeling ever.”

Webber fans wore T-shirts with the slogan “11 Strong.”

That’s the total number of players on the varsity roster and in the baseball program.

REMEMBER WHEN: The first baseball state finals appearance for New Athens, in 1948, ended with a title-game loss to Granite City in the single-class tournament held at Caterpillar Field in East Peoria.

One member of New Athens that season was junior outfielder Dorrel Norman Herzog, who later picked up the nickname “Whitey” and went on to manage the Royals and Cardinals in the major leagues.

Manual lost 2-1 to Granite City in the quarterfinals. New Athens beat Spalding 6-4 in a semi.

ON THE JOB: Rich Piatcheck officially retired as athletics director at Tinley Park Andrew on Wednesday.

On Friday he was back on the job as official scorer for the 1A and 2A state finals.

This is his 34th consecutive season in service for the baseball state tournament.

He previously coached baseball at Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin.

“The first year the tournament came to Springfield I hand-typed all the box scores and the play-by-play,” he said. “Later I became the public-address announcer and then I went on to be the official scorer.”

Page 2 of 2 - WITH THE BAND: Princeville coach Chris Delbridge was at Dozer with several of his players, assigned to the tarp crew.

Delbridge knows his way around downtown Peoria.

He’s a vocalist in the musical group 7 West, which performs monthly at Martini’s on Water Street. The group, which Delbridge said performs everything from country to classic rock, is scheduled to appear at the Strawberry Festival in Elmwood on Saturday afternoon.

BUSY WEEKEND: Crete Illinois Lutheran will face Webber for the 1A state title on Saturday.

On Sunday morning, Illinois Lutheran coach Mark Kjenstad and wife Jessica will board a plane for the Philippines to receive their adopted daughter, 19-month old Reah. The couple has a son, 5-year old Ryen, also born in the Philippines.

TOURNAMENT NOTES: The 10-inning semifinal between Webber and New Athens was the first extra-inning game in Class 1A since the split to four classes in 2008 and the longest game in the state tournament since LaGrange Lyons beat Chicago Lane in 10 innings in a 1996 Class AA state quarterfinal. ... Westmont junior shortstop Charlie Donovan is committed to the University of Michigan and is No. 1 Class of 2015 prospect in Illinois, according to Prep Baseball Report. Argenta-Oreana junior (P/SS) Keegan McHood is committed to play in college at Kentucky.

Lonnie Schwindenhammer is a Journal Star sports reporter. He can be reached at 686-3214 or lschwindenhammer@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Schwinlo.